Popular rapper Juelz Santana admitted to a court on August 16 that he attempted to board a plane at a New York-area airport with a loaded handgun in his carry-on luggage. The 36-year-old New Jersey resident is facing up to 20 years in prison on firearms charges. Santana faces more severe penalties because he is a convicted felon. Sentencing in the case is scheduled for December 12, according to media reports.
What started out as a telenovela-style plot of revenge: A wronged wife placed two deadly chemicals upon her husband’s mistress’s doorknobs, mailbox, and car, hoping to make the woman sick. By the way, the mistress was the wife’s best friend, and she was pregnant and the husband was the father. The mistress suffered, at most, one slight chemical burn which was alleviated with flushing with water. No other injuries occurred. However, the wife was charged, not with assault and battery, but with violations of the 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction.
On March 23, New York police took a Hells Angel into custody after they recovered cocaine, $3,000 in cash and a handgun during a traffic stop. The 37-year-old Ossining resident was pulled over after police observed him driving recklessly.
Anyone walking along a Brooklyn street in possession of a visible firearm is almost certain to draw the attention of the police. If police determine that the weapon is lawfully in that person’s possession, how far they can go in searching or detaining the individual without evidence that the person is committing a crime could violate someone’s constitutional rights.
A tourist was reportedly taken into police custody on Aug. 1 after she was accused of bringing weapons to the Sept. 11 memorial in New York. Authorities stated that the woman, who was from Texas, told a police officer that she was in possession of the weapons and they were in a backpack.
Many New York residents are uncertain about whether the possession of brass knuckles is illegal. To address this question, it is first necessary to define what brass knuckles are and are not. Most people are familiar with these from movies and TV, but they were initially invented for military personnel fighting in the trenches of World War I.
In certain cases, a person who has a weapon may be charged with criminal possession of a weapon in the 4th degree, which is a class A misdemeanor offense in New York. In some cases, possessing a weapon that has been deemed prohibited in the state will give rise to such charges, while in others, certain classes of people are themselves prohibited from possessing legal ones as well.
Reports indicate that a 41-year-old Brooklyn man has been charged with illegal possession of a weapon for allegedly being in possession of brass knuckles. Additionally, police say that they found a M72-LAW rocket launcher at the man’s home on Knickerbocker Avenue on Jan. 16. While they originally thought that the weapon was operational, it was later discovered that it was inert and was not designed to be used more than once.
According to reports, a man was taken into custody on Dec. 15 after allegedly attacking another individual with a knife in Greenwich Village. Police say the situation began when the accused, a 67-year-old male, became upset over a car blocking the crosswalk at an intersection. Reports indicate that the man approached the car and began yelling at the driver, a 37-year-old male, about blocking the crosswalk.
Recently, two policemen faced criminal charges in connection to a physical altercation with a single male suspect.